In 2015, after the PDP lost the presidential election, at the face of such unprecedented and unexpected defeat, most of the party’s bigwigs went into hibernation, except for those calling for the resignation of Adamu Mu’azu, the then PDP National Chairman from the North-East. While all this was unfolding, aspirants were already positioning themselves to contest for his seat. Eventually, Mu’azu resigned in May, and the party announced that interested aspirants from his zone could contest to complete his tenure.
Among those interested in the position were: Abdullahi Jalo, then Deputy National Publicity Secretary; Ahmed Gulak, Former Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Political Matters; Bala Mohammed, former FCT Minister; Abdullahi Idris Umar, former Minister of Transport; Mohammed Wakil, former Minister of State for Power; Rufai Ahmed Alkali, former adviser on political affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan; and others.
After Mu’azu’s resignation, the PDP was supposed to hold a special convention in August to elect a chairman to complete Mu’azu’s tenure, but this did not happen due to internal crises, court cases, and zoning disputes. Some argued that the tenure of the current National Working Committee (NWC) would expire in March 2016, further complicating the situation.
During this period, Nyesom Wike, a member of the class of 2015 governors, had joined the PDP Governors’ Forum. As a newcomer, he would bring alcohol to meetings, encourage members to drink during meetings, and use Rivers State monies to buy friendships. Doling out money to whoever asked, just to fit into the Abuja power clique. In this process, he developed a close relationship with Ayodele Fayose, who was popular and a vocal voice for the PDP at the time. He showered him with money and gifts, and they became BFF.
A notable aspect of the chairman tussle was that different camps had their preferred aspirants. Wike and Fayose sought a wealthy candidate who could mobilize resources, and they eventually approached Ali Modu Sheriff, who had no initial interest in running. Sheriff agreed to participate but insisted he was not interested in completing Mu’azu’s short remaining tenure of about three months; he wanted either a full or extended tenure. Wike and Fayose assured him they could secure more time for him, and Sheriff, trusting them, accepted the offer.
When news of Sheriff’s selection broke, it was widely opposed within the PDP. Many young party members, including myself, wrote and spoke out against appointing someone with his reputation. Various interest groups, including the Governors’ Forum and the Board of Trustees (BOT), initially resisted. However, through persistent lobbying, resource mobilization, and disruption of meetings by the duos, Wike and Fayose gradually won over key stakeholders. After weeks of negotiations, all leadership caucuses, including the Governors’ Forum, NEC, and eventually the BOT, reluctantly endorsed Sheriff, and he was announced temporary chairman in February 2016.
Once Sheriff assumed office, he delegated significant party responsibilities to Wike, while Fayose encouraged Sheriff to run and attempted to position himself as Sheriff’s running mate for the 2019 elections. All three men maneuvered for power until Sheriff resisted Fayose’s offer, prompting Fayose to move against him as chairman.
As the May 2016 convention approached, aggrieved Fayose was overheard on the phone planning how they would oust Sheriff after his three-month tenure and install Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna State. Fayose was speaking Yoruba. Unknown to him, Sheriff’s ordeal standing beside him understood Yoruba and informed Sheriff of what Fayose and Wike were planning. HAHAHA. That incident was what infuriated Sheriff and triggered the protracted legal battle that destabilized the PDP for over a year that we all witnessed. Somehow Sheriff got sympathy from the Buhari government and that also contributed to the legal tussle. To this day, the PDP has not fully recovered from the 2016 chairman decision, which created multiple factions within the party and weakened its cohesion.
During the Sheriff vs. Makarfi legal tussle, the already crisis-weary party leadership largely took a back seat, leaving Wike and Fayose to manage the fallout. By this time, Fayose had become Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and had effectively ceded about 70% of his influence to Wike, allowing him to dictate much of what happened within the party. This period is often misrepresented today as Wike “fighting for the party when everyone left.” Inaccurate.
Contrary to popular narratives, he was not fighting for the party. He was attempting to fix the mess he had created by forcing the NEC and BOT to endorse his candidate as chairman. He was defending his quest for power and control that had gone awry. No one else was expected to pay the legal bills for Wike and Fayose as they fought over the party’s chairmanship while simultaneously attempting to install another ally. Wike’s involvement was not out of loyalty to the PDP but rather an effort to manage the consequences of his own political maneuvering.
To this day, both Wike and Fayose continue to influence PDP leadership, aiming to control the NWC to advance their presidential ambitions. This was evident in 2018, when Wike influenced the choice of Tambuwal as presidential aspirant and himself as vice president, and again in 2023. In 2023, he once again attempted to destroy the PDP with his personal ambitions, but this time he was clever enough to conceal it through zoning – a strategy that worked for him.
Ahead of 2027, he is at it again. Yesterday, he vowed to drag the PDP to court, continuing a crisis he helped create 10 years ago!!
A man who was not at the table when the PDP was formed, yet benefited immensely from the party, has now positioned himself as an antagonist seeking to completely eliminate the party. May the PDP outlive him.
